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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

White-Cheddar Corn Chowder...

After freezing all that corn from the sweet crop late summer, we're sadly coming to the last few cups we have stashed away. The supply especially took a big dip tonight after making this White-Cheddar Corn Chowder!

I was hoping the corn would stretch us into the spring, but I'll just have to take note and remember to freeze a bit more this year. Starting with a base of softened onions and celery that we finely chopped, ground coriander, smoky cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper are tossed into the pot to start layering the flavors. Upping the heat on the stove a bit, a couple splashes of dry white wine were added in and allowed to concentrate briefly.

Chunky bits of buttery Yukon Golds (peeled or not... that is completely up to you), vegetable broth and milk are stirred in, adding volume and texture to the chowder. After letting the liquid bubble away in the pot, transforming the potatoes from firm to fork-tender, an ample amount of corn kernels were dropped in and left to warm through. Somewhat thin as is, the soup is taken off the heat and given a voluptuous body by taking out a couple cups worth of the chowder, then smoothing it out in a food processor or blender. The thick puree is stirred back in, the pot moved back over the heat, re-seasoned and allowed to cook for a couple extra minutes to bring the temperature back up.

After ladling the chowder into the bowl, we gave the tops a sharp dose of shredded white cheddar cheese for a finishing touch. I appreciated that the chowder still had some contrast since there were chunks of potato and bits of the corn present, thanks to pureeing only a portion of the mixture. I thought about upping the cayenne a touch, but the faint zing of heat turned out to be just right as any more would have taken away from the freshness in the corn.